PPL Co. (NYSE:PPL - Free Report) - Stock analysts at Zacks Research raised their Q1 2025 EPS estimates for shares of PPL in a report released on Monday, October 14th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the utilities provider will earn $0.52 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $0.51. The consensus estimate for PPL's current full-year earnings is $1.72 per share.
PPL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on PPL from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on PPL in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $38.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on PPL from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of PPL from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, PPL presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $34.56.
Read Our Latest Research Report on PPL
Shares of PPL opened at $32.62 on Thursday. The company's fifty day moving average is $32.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.58. PPL has a fifty-two week low of $23.36 and a fifty-two week high of $33.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The firm has a market cap of $24.07 billion, a PE ratio of 31.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.82.
PPL (NYSE:PPL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. PPL had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 10.17%. PPL's quarterly revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.29 earnings per share.
Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its position in PPL by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 884,838 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $24,590,000 after buying an additional 46,552 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in PPL by 7.5% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 866,256 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $23,848,000 after acquiring an additional 60,589 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its position in shares of PPL by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 496,165 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $13,719,000 after purchasing an additional 39,513 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in PPL by 52.1% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 154,336 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,197,000 after acquiring an additional 52,870 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of PPL by 50.3% during the 1st quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,701,515 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $129,433,000 after buying an additional 1,572,771 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.99% of the company's stock.
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were issued a $0.2575 dividend. This represents a $1.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 10th. PPL's dividend payout ratio is 100.00%.
PPL Corporation, an energy company, focuses on providing electricity and natural gas to approximately 3.6 million customers in the United States. It operates through three segments: Kentucky Regulated, Pennsylvania Regulated, and Rhode Island Regulated. The company delivers electricity to customers in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Virginia, and Rhode Island; delivers natural gas to customers in Kentucky and Rhode Island; and generates electricity from power plants in Kentucky.
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